Business Headlines

Scantron Acquires Spectrum K12 School Solutions

Spectrum K12 Solutions Will Complement and Enhance Scantron Offerings; Educators Will Be Provided Unique and Comprehensive Set of Tools to Assess Student Performance, Personalize Learning and Advance Student Achievement

SAN ANTONIO, TX -- July 22, 2010 - Harland Clarke Holdings Corp. announced that its subsidiary, Scantron Corporation, has acquired Spectrum K12 School Solutions, a recognized industry leader in providing Response to Intervention (RTI), Student Achievement Management and Special Education software solutions. Spectrum K12 complements and enhances the solutions currently being delivered to the educational market by Scantron.

“Spectrum K12 and Scantron provide similar yet still distinctive products to different segments of the education market,” said Harland Clarke Holdings Corp. President and CEO Chuck Dawson. “The value of this acquisition lies in the combined portfolio of educational assessment, content and data management tools to support educators in meeting the ongoing challenge of individualizing learning.”

Spectrum K12 develops, markets and sells products and services that allow educators to evaluate individual student academic progress. These solutions assess and track data that indicate when special intervention or special teaching methodologies are advisable to further student achievement. While Spectrum K12 is most recognized as a leader in assessing special education and at risk children, its products are used for all students from pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade. It is highly respected within the industry, with its current customers including 20 of the top 100 school districts in the U.S. Through its new ownership, Spectrum K12’s solutions will be exposed to Scantron’s expansive national and international educational customer base that includes 80 of the 100 largest U.S school districts as well as 70 countries and 15 ministries of education.

Scantron has been providing assessment and survey solutions for more than three decades to educational, commercial and governmental organizations. Its reputation has been built upon its pioneering products and services that allow for the rapid, accurate and reliable capture of student performance data. Scantron is also the source of broadly-used educational assessment and survey solutions and value-added services. These assessment tools include the award-winning Achievement Series®, a web-based district wide assessment solution that allows K-12 educators to develop and administer online and paper-based tests, capture immediate results and produce standards-based reports. Another of these assessment tools is Scantron’s Performance Series®, a computer-adaptive test that assesses student proficiency levels across a range of subjects which correspond to specific state standards.

“Student assessment and achievement are priorities at the federal, state and local levels,” noted Bill Hansen, president of Scantron and former deputy secretary of the US Department of Education. “Scantron and Spectrum K12 provide a unique combination of computer-adaptive diagnostic testing and standards-based formative assessment. In bringing both companies’ offerings to a larger market, we can more effectively help educators raise the level of achievement for more students.”

“I am very excited about Spectrum K12’s new ownership,” said Jim Marshall, president of Spectrum K12. “Our combined efforts will reach more educators with more technology and services that let them truly personalize learning for students. It’s an honor for Spectrum K12 to work in partnership with Scantron in supporting our national goal of positively impacting student achievement.”

About Scantron Corporation Scantron helps education, commercial, and government organizations worldwide measure and improve effectiveness with assessment and survey solutions built on leading products and comprehensive, value-added services. The company is best known for its pioneering and exceptional products and services that allow the rapid, accurate and reliable capture of student performance data. Scantron continues this trend with innovative software and survey solutions that leverage its expertise in world-class forms printing and scanner manufacturing. It is proud to serve 80 of the largest 100 school districts in the United States, as well as 70 countries and 15 Ministries of Education throughout the world that have chosen Scantron’s scanning solutions for their national assessment programs. For more information, visit www.scantron.com.

About Spectrum K12 School Solutions Spectrum K12 partners with educators and administrators who strive to Move Every Child Forward®. Working collaboratively with school districts of all sizes, Spectrum K12 delivers a Student Achievement Management solution suite that manages, administers and prescribes the personalized learning process and data required for all students: in general, compensatory, gifted or special education; pre-K through graduation and beyond. Spectrum K12 is the industry leader in providing Response to Intervention (RTI), Student Achievement Management, and Special Education (IEP) software solutions, serving 11 percent of the U.S. K12 student population including 20 of the top 100 school districts in the United States. Spectrum K12’s award-winning software has driven personalized learning to more than five million students in 29 states. For more information, visit www.spectrumK12.com.

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